In an elevator system, an elevator car in an elevator shaft moves vertically between the floors of a building. The elevator car is here most often joined with a drive by way of a suspension element, for example a rope or strap. The elevator system is controlled by an elevator control unit. In order to make a call entry, each floor has an operating panel, which is connected with an elevator control unit via a communication network. Understood by an operating panel are the panels provided on each floor in the access area to the elevator system, which have at least one switch that can be operated by a user for using the elevator system.
Each floor exhibits an elevator door to the elevator shaft. In order to ensure the safety of people present on the floors, each individual elevator door is locked. It is unlocked when the elevator car is located at the height of the elevator doors. According to legal standard EN81-1, the elevator door must be locked prior to any subsequent movement by the elevator car. In addition to a lock, the elevator door exhibits a door contact unit. When the door contact unit is closed, the elevator car in the elevator shaft can be moved. Each door contact unit is a unit of a safety circuit of the elevator system. In the simplest case, they are electrical contacts connected in series, which are positively driven and directly interrupt the safety circuit, and hence the power supply to the drive, when an elevator door is opened or not completely closed or locked. This ensures that the elevator cannot move if an elevator door is open. Opening an elevator door during a ride also results in an immediate termination of the ride.
EP 132 14 23 A1 describes an electrical safety circuit for an elevator, wherein electrical safety circuit switches, such as door locking switches or door contact units, etc., are electrically connected in series by means of a connecting device.
DE 102 30 380 B4 describes a safety circuit with component junctions in a wireless communication network, wherein each component junction exhibits at least one sensor and a communication device for communicating with a controller.
Known from document EP 163 88 80 A1 is a safety system or safety circuit for an elevator system, which has a control unit along with at least one safety element and a bus as the communication network. The bus or safety bus enables communication between the at least one safety element and the control unit. For example, the safety element can monitor the state of the shaft and car doors. In addition, the at least one safety element consists of a receiver and a transmitter.
Document EP 142 76 62 A1 describes a safety system with safety bus. The safety bus is used to enable a safe and reliable monitoring of the shaft doors of an elevator system.
Document 142 76 60 A1 describes a safety system with safety bus that makes it possible to evaluate the state of car and shaft doors.
For example, the book Bus Systems, Parallel and Serial Bus Systems, Local Networks, by Georg Fäarber, R. Oldenbourg, München Wien publishing house, 1987, ISNB 3-486-20120-4, describes what is to be understood by a bus or bus system.
Within the framework of assembling and installing an elevator system in a building, the elevator car is moved to all stopping positions, i.e., to all floors, during a so-called test run, so as to adjust the stopping positions to the level of the respective floors. In addition, it is necessary to set or configure the operating panels distributed on the individual floors, e.g., panels equipped with destination call buttons or other elevator operating panels, and their communication with a central elevator control unit. The floor on which the operating panels are located is allocated to them in terms of their position. This setting or allocation traditionally takes place with several switches, which must each be manually set by a technician on each floor for each operating panel. Configurations manually performed in this way require a high outlay of time and personnel. Furthermore, such switches represent cost-intensive components.
Document EP 1 847 499 A2 describes a way of setting the floor allocation for a plurality of operating panels of an elevator system. To this end, an elevator car encompasses a transmitter unit. The elevator car moves toward each floor, and the operating panel on the floor is activated. The position data describing the floor are sent by the transmitter unit to the operating panel and/or to a central control unit and stored in a memory unit.
A disadvantage to this method is that the operating panels must temporarily encompass a receiver unit, so that the position data can be sent between the transmitter unit in the elevator car and the operating panel. The receiver unit is again removed after the setting process, which is time intensive and increases installation costs.